Male Chinese international students' utilization of and barriers to mental health resources

Abstract

The number of Chinese international students obtaining their education at American institutions of higher education has reached a pinnacle, in that more Chinese international students attend American colleges and universities than ever before (Institute of International Education, 2015). Colleges and universities actively recruit Asian international students, especially those from the People's Republic of China. As Chinese international students continue to represent an ever-greater percentage of the student bodies at colleges and universities, these institutions have a responsibility to attend to the mental health needs of this population. Within this population, research suggests that male Asian international students hold less positive attitudes toward seeking help than their female peers (Komiya & Eells, 2001). Since the participants in this study represent an intersection of identities, the extant research from several populations will be reviewed. Specifically, literature examining college students', college men's, racial minorities', and international students' mental health needs, attitudes towards mental health resources, and help-seeking behaviors will be discussed. The literature review will also build a case for examining male Chinese international students' mental health needs. The goal of this study is to provide greater insight into how male Chinese international students perceive mental health resources. The current study utilized Consensual Qualitative Research (Hill, 2012; Hill et al. 2005; Hill et al., 1997) to examine male Chinese international students' experiences as international students, their adjustment to American culture, their mental health needs, their perceptions of mental health resources, and their help-seeking behaviors. Results indicated that participants struggled with a number of aspects of their experience as international students, v specifically the adjustment to a new language, academic challenges, difficulty with isolation, and professional dilemmas. Participants also identified positive aspects of their experiences as international students including but not limited to making friends and academic successes. Participants revealed copious challenges within their adjustment to American culture. The majority of participants reported that they enjoyed the cultural differences, although participants often noted their dislike of American culture and their preference for Chinese culture. Participants also discussed perceived discrepancies in cultural norms between American culture and Chinese culture. The majority of participants in this study had never sought psychological counseling before. The results indicated that participants were aware of a number of barriers to seeking counseling including the lack of need for counseling, the desire to manage their concerns by themselves, the fear of judgment or stigma from seeking help, the perception that counseling is not helpful, and that other resources were preferred. Participants also identified several potential reasons for seeki...

Barriers and facilitators associated with the use of mental health services among immigrant students in high-income countries: A systematic scoping review

“…In several studies, it was found that masculinity or being male could be a barrier to mental health service utilization for many immigrant students, especially Asian students (n = 10). According to Galligan in 2017, norms of masculinity would be influenced by cultural norms and would advocate for the desire to manage oneself such as the desire to be seen as tough or strong, the feeling of not being able to cry and not having to express one’s emotions, and the desire not to be seen as weak [ 86 ]. Thus, the strong adherence to masculinity among men in Asian communities often leads to their reluctance in seeking mental health services when faced with mental health issues [ 49 , 50 , 52 , 56 , 63 , 68 , 74 , 81 , 86 ].…”

“…According to Galligan in 2017, norms of masculinity would be influenced by cultural norms and would advocate for the desire to manage oneself such as the desire to be seen as tough or strong, the feeling of not being able to cry and not having to express one’s emotions, and the desire not to be seen as weak [ 86 ]. Thus, the strong adherence to masculinity among men in Asian communities often leads to their reluctance in seeking mental health services when faced with mental health issues [ 49 , 50 , 52 , 56 , 63 , 68 , 74 , 81 , 86 ]. For instance, Alajlan’s study revealed that men were more likely to feel stigmatized by counseling and had lower tolerance scores compared to women [ 50 ].…”

“…For instance, Alajlan’s study revealed that men were more likely to feel stigmatized by counseling and had lower tolerance scores compared to women [ 50 ]. Furthermore, being a man from an Asian community with a strong adherence to Asian culture could act as an additional barrier to accessing mental health services [ 50 , 56 , 81 , 86 ].…”

How Do Chinese International Students View Seeking Mental Health Services?

“…Assuming gender plays an important role in shaping attitudes toward helpseeking (Tedeschi & Willis, 1993), studies examining the effects of gender on helpseeking behaviors among Asian populations have produced mixed results. Even though gender is not a significant predictor of Chinese students' attitudes toward seeking psychological help (e.g., Tang et al, 2012;Zhang & Dixon, 2003), some researchers have argued that gender has a significant effect on students' help-seeking attitudes in general (Leong & Zachar, 1999), particularly for Chinese, Asian, and Asian-American students (e.g., Chang, 2008;Galligan, 2016;Mojaverian et al, 2013;Sheu & Sedlacek, 2004;Tedeschi & Willis, 1993;Yoon & Jepsen, 2008). In studies where gender was identified as an important factor in help-seeking attitudes, the findings consistently revealed women as reporting more favorable attitudes than men.…”

With A Little Help From My Friends: A Mixed Methods Study Of Psychological Distress And Help-Seeking Preferences Of Chinese International Students At Victoria University Of Wellington

“…Although seeking help for psychological reasons is highly stigmatised among the Chinese student population, research has highlighted seeking help for academic supports and web-based interventions as alternatives which may make helpseeking more acceptable. Help-seeking for academic reasons is often considered more socially acceptable among this population and promoting the benefits to study is recommended (Galligan, 2016;Tracey et al,1986).…”